Dirk Nowitzki unveils his dream 3x3 lineup feat LeBron James and Michael Jordan
Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki named LeBron James, Michael Jordan and Kevin Durant has the three players he would want on his 3x3 basketball team. With Team USA failing to medal in 3x3 basketball at the 2024 Paris Olympics, there has been quite a bit of talk regarding the future of Team USA's 3x3 roster.
With no NBA and Big3 basketball players who specialize in 3x3 basketball competing for Team USA, many feel it's time for Team USA to step it up and field a better team at the next Olympics.
Given that this year is expected to be LeBron James and Kevin Durant's last Olympics, it's unlikely that either winds up competing in 3x3 basketball at the next Olympics despite all of Team USA's 3x3 players being over 30.
In an interview with BasketNews, Dirk Nowitzki spoke with Donatas Urbonas about his dream 3x3 basketball team, naming three American legends to his ideal roster.
"I'm a big Michael Jordan fan. He was my hero growing up, my idol, so I've got to pick Michael Jordan. Can't go wrong with LeBron. I love Kevin Durant because he can score inside, he can step out, he's tall, he can guard.
"In 3x3, size matters because there's a lot of switching. Small guards will be a little tough in 3x3., so it's gotta be bigger guys who can play and make plays for themselves. I'd have to say Michael Jordan, Kevin Durant, and LeBron, there's tons of good players."
You can see Dirk Nowitzki's comments 90 seconds into the video below.
Brian Windhorst explains NBA players don't compete in 3x3 basketball after Dirk Nowitzki named his dream 3x3 roster
With Team USA yet to win a medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, many fans have questioned why USA Basketball doesn't assemble a team of NBA stars to dominate the 3x3 event. As NBA analyst Brian Windhorst explained this week, teams and players must participate in a number of qualifying events to compete.
As a result, players like Kyrie Irving and Jaylen Brown for example, who many believe should have been included on Team USA's roster, wouldn't be able to compete in a slew of FIBA-sanctioned 3x3 tournaments during the NBA season.
Similarly, Dirk Nowitzki's dream 3x3 roster that includes LeBron James and Kevin Durant would be ineligible to participate in 3x3 basketball at the Olympics.
The way Windhorst sees things, FIBA has put these guidelines in place so that other teams have a chance to win gold given that Team USA has won gold in every Olympics except one (2004 - Athens) since the Olympics began allowing NBA players to participate.
"FIBA doesn’t really want the US to be good at 3-on-3. They really want that to be for countries that can't field 5-on-5 teams. And so they do all these things, like they have these layers and layers and layers of things you have to do to qualify. I just don’t mean the team. Like, Kyrie (Irving) can’t just show up and play."
For that reason, Caitlin Clark was unable to replace Cameron Brink on the women's 3x3 USA team. Because Clark has never competed in a 3x3 tournament sanctioned by FIBA, she wasn't eligible to step in on short notice once Brink went down with an injury.
Once NBA stars like LeBron James and Kevin Durant retire from the NBA, though, the pair could theoretically join forces and make a 3x3 team like Dirk Nowitzki dreamed up so long as they participate in FIBA-sanctioned events to earn eligibility to compete at the Olympics.